On This Date in 1959...


60 years ago today, our baseball headlines included famous firsts for a pair of future Hall of Famers. At Seals Stadium in San Francisco, Willie McCovey made his major league debut and broke in with a bang, going 4-for-4, including a pair of triples and two RBIs, as the Giants pounded the Phillies 7-2. As noted above at the club's current home, McCovey went on to crush 521 home runs (but only 44 more triples) over the next 21-1/2 seasons en route to Cooperstown.

The same day at Crosley Field, Cardinal rookie Bob Gibson pitched the first shutout of his career. After struggling in three early-season appearances, the Creighton University grad turned it around, keeping a Reds lineup that featured Frank Robinson Vada Pinson and Gus Bell off the scoreboard. It was the first of 56 shutouts during his remarkable career. Right fielder Joe Cunningham's 2nd single drove in Ken Boyer with the game's only run. Gibson worked the rest of the day with no margin for error en route to the 1-0 victory.
July 30th, 1959 a notable day for two of baseball's legends. McCovey and Gibson. 

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